Understanding Reverse Logistics & its 6 Major Benefits

Reverse logistics refers to moving merchandise and materials from the end-user back through the supply chain to retailers, manufacturers, or disposal and recycling companies.

For retailers, reverse logistics is a constant once customers return products for one reason or another. However, the products returned to the store or manufacturer and managing them are reverse logistics functions.

The return process is an integral part of the sale of merchandise or materials. Customers expect to be able to return a product that doesn’t work for them or has reached the end of its useful life.

You can be lackluster with your returns process. However, this would not be a smart business decision. Most of the products sold even recalled or broken ones, still have practical value. And your current and potential customers often consider how you handle those returns. So, it is wise to invest your time and resources into making an economic reverse logistic process.

Here are six advantages of maintaining a sustainable reverse logistics process:

1. Lower Costs

An economic reverse logistics system can facilitate your business cut its costs in many ways. Ensuring that the right players and processes are in place can help you save values relating to transportation, administration, repairs, tech support, quality assurance, marketing, and disposal.

It enables you to measure live cost savings by noting every product category’s total cost of ownership. If you regain value from resold or recycled products and the remainder of your business is running smoothly, your business productivity is positively influenced.

2. Happier Customers

One of the most effective methods to satisfy your business goals is to concentrate on client retention. It’s way more challenging to bring in new customers than retain those you already have. According to research, roughly 96% of customers are willing to purchase from the same retailer once more, provided they have a positive comeback experience.

Here are a few pointers to help you make your customers happy with their return experience:

• Offer free return shipping
• Provide customers a full refund (don’t charge restocking fees)
• Don’t make the return of the initial packaging mandatory

3. Better Brand Reputation

Customers often look at how you handle reviews. Some won’t even consider business dealings with you if you don’t have a friendly return policy. If you’re well-known for giving customers a tough time after they wish or need to return something, it will hurt your business. On the other hand, if your business is famed for no-hassle returns, like Amazon or Myntra, it positively influences your overall brand reputation and helps bring in more customers.

4. Reduced Risk

While this benefit might not apply to all enterprises, however, an efficient reverse logistics process will consider any risk about product exchanges and disposal. Some merchandise may be subject to a security recall and require immediate disposal. Others might contain sensitive information that needs to be deleted before the recycling or disposal process.

5. Improved Sustainability

It is wrongfully believed that everything coming back through the supply chain is junk and ready for disposal. Some products need safe disposal. However, several can still be used. By making further use of these products, you keep them out of the landfill for as long as possible.

It also helps in safe recycling or proper disposal of certain items, like electronics, to avoid negative environmental impact as much as possible. On the positive side, it also positively influences your brand image.

6. Higher Profits

One of the most significant benefits of optimizing reverse logistics is the impact on your bottom-line results. Remember, many items returned by customers were simply the wrong size, color, or model for their needs. The products are often in perfect shape for re-sale.

A well-oiled reverse logistics process will set up the hassle-free return with the customer, receive the product at a staging area, inspect it, make any necessary repairs, and place it back into inventory for sale. Some items might be discounted or marked as reconditioned, but the revenue is money you wouldn’t receive if you hadn’t established this secondary market for your products.

Conclusion

Companies cannot accurately determine the number of products that will be returned to them and what the consequences are going to be. Reverse logistics allows the company to prepare for these circumstances and helps handle them efficiently. By using reverse logistics, companies can build the image of a responsible enterprise, manufacturing products from recycled materials.

We at GreenTek Reman offer you one of the best reverse logistics services. We undertake the responsibility of reverse logistics for our clients. To learn more about us and our reverse logistics services, you can reach out to us at contact@greentekreman.com